Xbox One Devs Can Now Use More of the Console's CPU

Xbox One SDK leak reveals developers can use more of the console's CPU.

Xbox One developers can now use more of the console's CPU power,
according to a recent report on its latest software development kit
(SDK) from Eurogamer's Digital Foundry.

The latest update gives developers access to a seventh core (out of a
total of eight) on Xbox One's CPU. Microsoft can now allow developers to
use more of Xbox One's CPU as it continues to use less of the CPU
itself for background operations related to Kinect's infrared and voice
detection capabilities.

If developers want to use the seventh CPU core, they have to give up
voice detection along with other Kinect functionality. However, even if
they do, a user can still choose to use system-level voice commands,
which will automatically use as much as 50 percent of that seventh core,
causing problems for the developer. According to Digital Foundry, the
leaked SDK also indicated that Microsoft intends to address this issue
in future updates.

The only reason we know about these changes is because a hacking group
called H4LT recently leaked the latest version of Xbox One's SDK. It's
been suggested that the leaked SDK will allow developers to start
creating homebrew applications or pirate games for Xbox One, but
encryption technologies and server-side authentication mean that the SDK
mostly a curiosity, at least for now.